Bicycle propelling mechanism



No. 6l7,63|. Patented 1an. \0, |899. W. J. BUSCH. BICYCLE PBOPELLING MEGHNISM. (Application led July 16, 1897.)

l (No Model.)`

l. En

Jllfovgzys) *Iren STATES VILLIAM JOSEPH BOSCH, OF

New ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

BlYCLE PROFELLING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION Be itkncwn that-I, WILLIAM JOSEPH Boscn, acitizen of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and useful Bicycle Propelling Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

- Myinvention relates to bicycles, and particularly to driving or propelling mechanism therefor; and the object in viewis to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient construction of chainless gearing of which the meming-wheel axle.

',ofV twisting the drivi y tion 'of motion co bers are so mounted and related as. to adapt the mechanism to be applied as an attachment to bicycles manufactured with other forms of gearing.

I attain the above obj driving mechanism con internally-toothed drivin bearing in a support or vided with means for cle-frame, the drivin ect by providing a stingof an annular g-gear having a rimcasing which is proattachment to a bicyg-gear being disposed yeccontrically with relation to the axis of the its internal teeth in a pinion fixed to the driv- 'lhis construction .provides for an extended bearing whereby the liability ng-gear `by the applicammunicated thereto by means of a pitman or the equivalent thereof is reduced to theminimum, and, furthermore, the extended or rim bearing enables me to employ a support or casingof suiicient diameter to locate the fastening devices. by which said support or casing is secured'to'the bicycle-frame at remote points, and thusinslure the rigidity of the mechanism under severe tests.

Further objects and advantages of this i nvention will appear in the following description, and the novel4 features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side View of a bicycle provided with a driving mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view'ot the driving mechanism on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 Ls a detail sectional View on the line 3 Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view in perspective of the sectional crank-arm and the contiguous driving-wheel and with engagement with sentira. 544,826.

l secured to said 3 of I above-mentioned caplate-securing i to the frame-bars forming'part of Letters Patent No. 617,631, dated January 10, 1899.` I Applicant id'nuy'ie, '1897.

(No model.)

portion of the nected.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts i n all the lgu res of the drawings.

1 designates a vehicleframe, such as that of an ordinary safetybicycle, the same as in the construction illustrated, having a crankhanger 2 at the lower end ofA the seat-post tube 3, the horizontal rear fork 4, and the rear braces 5, the usual driving-wheel having its axle l5 mounted in suitable bearings at the junction of the rear fork 4 and the braces 5.

Suitably lixed to the driving-wheel axle 15 is a driving-pinion 16, and Y pinion is an internally-toothed annular driving-gear l2, Wholly open at its center, and obvionsl y disposed eccenat-rically with relation to theldri ving-wheel axle in order to suit the smaller diameter of the pinion and insure a rotation of the latter-at an increased speed over that of the driving-gear. d gear has a rim or exterior bearing in a support or casing 8,which is provided with means to facilitate its attachment at remote points 4 and 5 of a v4bicycle or similar'veliicle. In the construction illustrated the support or casing Sis provided 10, extending radially and secured by bolts or the equivalents thereof to said frame-bars g but it will be understood that other similar means for detachably securing the support or casing to the bicycle-frame may be adopted without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

The preferred construction of the supportor casing includes an inwardly-extending flange 6, which may be constructed as a separate plate from the body portion of the support, as shown, and a cap-ring 7, secured to the body'portion of the support by means of screws 9, said flange and cap-ring extending inwardly to overlap the driviiig-gear 12 and hold the latter against transverse or axial displacement. Obviously when the ilange-dis constructed as a portion of the support or casing it body portion by mean pitman with the parts disconmay be s of. the screws 9, e extendedinwardly opening 14 to receive "and this flange may and provided with-.an

with ears' plate separate from the body/7 This driving- IOO the axle l5, and thus add to the security with 'hich the support or casing is fastened to the machine-frame. It will be seen that the flan ge is thus disposed between the plane of the contiguous frame members t and 5 and the adjacent or inner yside of the pinion 1G. Also it will be understood that antifriction balls or rollers 13 may be interposed between the rim of the driving-gear and the encircling wall of the bearing and that the interval between the iange 6 and the cap-ring 7 is equal to the thickness of the driving-gear l2 to hold the latter properly againstV transverse displacement or lost motion.

From the above description it will be seen that the device embodying the essential features of my invention may be applied to a bicycle of tl' e ordinary construction simply by substituting a pinion for the usual rear chain-wheel and applying the support or casing 10, the lattervbeing firmly secured to. the

members of the bicycle-frame by suitable prising a fixed member means of attachment.

Various devices may be employed for communicating motion from the crank-shaft 2O to the driving-gear, but that which I have illustrated inthe drawings includes a wristpin 17,secured to the driving-gear by means of a bracket-plate 1S and a pitman 19, mounted at one end upon said wrist-pin and pivot-ally connected at the other end to one of the pedalcranks 2l. 22. That pedal-crank 22 which I have illustrated in the drawings as the means whereby motion is communicated to the driving-gear is of sectional construction, com-l i 23 and a removable member 24, the former being attached to the crank-axle 2O and the other carrying the The connection between said crank members consists of a pivot-pin 25, having a squared or shouldered portion to fit in a correspondingly constructed opening in the member 24 at an interval from the plane of the member 23 suiiicient to receive lthe oontiguous end of the pitman, and a nut 25, threaded upon the outer extremity of said pin, to hold the removable member 24 in place. It willbe seen that the squared or shouldered portion of the pin prevents independent swinging` or rotary movement of the member 24 with relation to the member 23, while the round portion of the pivot-pin, between' they planes of the members 23 and 24, forms a bearing for the front end of the pitman li);

Having ldescribed my invention, what I claim is l. An attachment for bicycles com prising a support or casing provided with means for attachment to a bicycle-frame, a pinion for attachmentto the axle of the bicycle drivingwheel, andarrangcd in the plane of said support or casing, an annularinternally-toothed driving-gear arranged in the plane of said 1 pinion and having a rim-bearing in said support or casing, and means for communicating rotary motion to said driving-gear, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with a bicycle-frame having a rear fork and intersecting rear braces, and a driving-wheel having its axle mounted in bearings at the intcrsectionof said fork and rearbraces, of a pinion secured to the driving-wheel axle adjacent to the plane of one of the rear braces of the frame, an annular s-upport or casing having an internal bearing and radially-extending ears, and also provided at the inner and outer sides of the plane of its internal bearing with an inwardlyextendingiiange G and an inwardly-extending removable cap-ring 7, means for detachably securing said cap-ring in place, securing devices for fastening said radial ears respectively to the contiguous rear brace and fork of the bicycle, said flange (i of the support or easing being arranged between the planes of said pinion and the adjacent frame-bars, and being provided with an opening through which the driving-wheel axle extends, an aned at its outer periphery in said internal bearing' of the support or casing and meshing with the said pinion, and means for communicating rotary motion to the d rivng-gear,subst:mtially as specified.

3.?Tl1e herein-described attachment for bicycles, eomprising a support or casing S having a body portion consisting of an annular plate, an inwardly-extending flange-plate l arranged in contact with one side surface of the plate S and extending inwardly beyond the inner edge thereof, a removable cap-ring arranged in contact with the' opposite surface of the plate 8 and also extending inwardly beyond the inner edge thereof, means for detachably securing the cap-ring in place, said casing being provided with radial ears 10, means for securing said ears to the frame-bars of a bicycle, an annular driving-gear mounted at its outer edge in the annular bearing formed by the inner edge of the plate S and between the planes of the iiange-plate G and the capring 7, and a pinion arranged in the plane of, and eccentrically with relation to, the driving-gear, and meshing therewith, for attachment to the axle of a bicycle driving-wheel, substantaly'asspecfled'.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto allixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

VILLIII JOSEP-II BOSCH.

\Vitnesses: V l" FELIX. J. DnEYFoUs, Gno. MONTGOMERY.

nular intcrnally-toothed drivi ng-gear mounty IOO log

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